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Cases:

» Reinventing the Community Bookstore
Booksellers, publishers, authors, and members of the Kepler’s Books community from across the country gathered in Palo Alto to participate in a Future Search project on Reinventing the Community Bookstore in general and Kepler’s Books in particular.  “The overriding goal of Future Search was to expand the circle of committed and engaged stakeholders who are going to work with Kepler’s and other community bookstores to build a better and sustainable business model,” said Mr. Madan, who described the event as a success.

» Education Curriculum Organisation in the UK
AQA, the largest curriculum organisation in the UK, preparing and marking exams and courses for 1.5 million students each year, turned to Future Search for a new conversation and a different way of working. The biggest surprise to the participants of the Future Search was how open and honest they were once they understood that they all were toward a common goal. They aligned their ambitions and took action that they hadn’t done in years.

» Fishing Industry Summit for Health (FISH) Future Search
To create a shared vision, commitment, and action plan to improve the commercial fishing communities, New England Fishermen faced the challenges to their physical, psychological, behavioral and financial health. One of the frontline agencies, the Fishing Partnership Support Services convened the Future Search.  In that meeting, diverse stakeholders created a strategic plan that included the perspectives of the fishermen and their families for the first time.

Canadian Global Asset Management Company
In Montreal, Quebec Canada, a leading Canadian global asset management company used Future Search as part of a strategic planning process. The goal was to develop and reach consensus on a new vision, following a change in ownership.  The process brought together senior and middle management, all functional and operational departments, clients, suppliers, and advisers. This was an innovation for this company which was used to more traditional top down planning and development.  It grew out of a contract to implement a traditional strategic planning process.  With the help of the consultant, the process moved from “telling” approach to a collaborative approach.  Once this shift was made, there was broad support for the process throughout the organization and enthusiasm for implementing the results.  Following the Future Search, all employees participated in work sessions with senior management and members of the planning team. A new culture and a new style of leadership are now emerging in the company.

» Functional Assessment in Job Injuries in Southern Ontario Province, Canada
A Future Search was held to look at how functional assessment of injured workers is done in Southern Ontario Province in Canada. The stakeholders included injured workers, health care representatives, assessment providers, labour groups, employers and the Workplace Safety Insurance Board.  The theme of the conference was “Functional Assessment: A Time for Consensus, A Time for Change.”

Telecommunication Company, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Internal and external partners of a telecommunication company, with product penetration in 85 countries and speaking 14 different languages, got together to create a new vision. As a result, their shared decisions are transforming this organization from product driven to market driven, from costs to quality, from hierarchy centered to decentralized decision making. A participating client made a commitment to a real business partnership by saying, “we will share our market intelligence with you.”

Multi-national Specialty Chemicals, Washington DC, USA
Having split into two companies and reorganized to meet changing market conditions, this company used Future Search to help the newly formed, world-wide Human Resource function develop a new vision for their role. Human Resources plus their customers, a cross section of employees and managers from various divisions around the world, set a common agenda for the future

American Society of Training and Development (ASTD)
Members from across United States, Caribbean, Europe and Asia met in Orlando, Florida on the future of workplace learning and performance. Conference outcomes include a book on the future of the HRD profession and an on-line knowledge management system. The theme of the conference was:  “Collaboration in a Virtual Team Environment: A Case Study in Planning the ASTD/AHRD 2001 Future Search Conference ”

Law Firm, Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
Experiencing considerable growth, the key issue for this law firm was the tension between expanding and maintaining a strong collegial culture. One outcome of the Future Search was unanimity on a specific approach to growth for central and branch offices. This was significant accomplishment because the partners were unable to agree on a coherent strategy prior to the Future Search. Future Search principles were used in successive planning meetings, unusual for law firms, as you can imagine.

Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association. Chicago, IL, USA
This is the group within the ABA that focuses on how law firms manage their practices. They created a future for the management section and their stakeholders that included fresh ideas on how to stay relevant and close to their client base.

High-Tech Medical Equipment Manufacturer, New York, USA
Using Future Search to address major quality, safety and productivity problems, everyone in the plant, including engineers, permanent and contract workers and corporate executives achieved a common vision of how the workplace should operate. Over the next year, follow-up activities led to dramatic improvements in quality and workplace safety, along with redesigned production lines and warehouse areas.

Penn Ventilator Corp., Philadelphia, PA, USA
“The Future of Non-Residential Ventilation Systems”, sponsored by Penn Ventilator. PVC brought together customers, suppliers, consultant engineers & systems designers and a cross section of the organization. The unique nature of this Future Search was that the client explored the future of the sector and also invited competitors to the meeting. Together they came to understand the nature of the sector and the environmental impacts on their businesses in a profound way. One major outcome for Pen Ventilator was decentralizing to create flexibility in the organization and responsiveness to customers.

» “A Vision for Whole Foods Markets” – John Mackey, CEO
In a recent edition of the Whole Foods monthly newsletter, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market was asked the following question: “Where do you see the natural foods industry and Whole Foods in the next 10 years?”, John answered…”Every five years, Whole Foods Market goes through a process called “Future Search” where we bring together representatives of our various stakeholder groups – including customers, team members, investors, vendors and our Board of Directors – to help us collectively envision the future. In October of 2003, we held our fourth Future Search Event and collectively developed some very powerful goals and aspirations. Three specifically stand out: global expansion, Animal Compassionate Standards, and the creation of Whole Foods Market University – an opportunity to upgrade the training and information available to our Team Members and customers”.